Forever and a Day ~ James Potter

First Time Captain

Chapter Fifty-Two

Saturday 20th November 1976 ~ 10:15 ~ waning moon

For the first time in Hogwarts' history, it seemed, the winter Hogsmeade trip and Gryffindor's first Quidditch match of the season had arrived on the very same day. The usual buzzing emotions between the houses had seemed to double with a Christmas trip outside the castle coming the morning before Gryffindor went against Ravenclaw in competition for the House Cup.

The excitement in the Great Hall was palpable as the big group of sixth year Gryffindors sat around eating their late breakfast. They were discussing what they wanted to do for the remainder of the day, seeing as three of them would need to be preparing for the match that would begin at two o'clock that afternoon.

"All I'm saying is that if just the six of us go, we can all fit into one carriage, and you three can stay here and get in some extra practice," Peter shrugged, making his argument to the group. Though, he was met with very vocal protests from Marlene and Sirius.

"I'm sorry, Mar, but I have to agree with Pettigrew on this one," Alice spoke up in his defence, lightly patting her best friend on the shoulder in sympathy. The blonde opened her mouth widely to shout something about betrayal to her friend, but Alice stopped her with a raised hand. "By the time we get there, you'll probably have to come back anyway. Plus, I'm going around with Frank."

Her last statement caught Rosie's attention, who had been debating which side of the argument to take for the last fifteen minutes. Of course, it would be her first time on Hogsmeade after admitting her feelings to James, and she really wanted to spend some time with him. However, she also knew that even if he did go, then the others would probably not let them get any time on their own without becoming very suspicious about the truth.

So instead, she opted to go with a cryptic response, "Yes, I'm sure you and Frank have a lot of important things to discuss," she mentioned, raising her eyebrows knowingly at Alice. She gave a similar look in return before nodding and thankfully, nobody else seemed to cotton on.

Everybody looked towards James then, who had been silent throughout the entire debate. He was staring intently at the table, as if he could just make out a strange reflection in the shining oak. In reality, he was struggling with choosing between the two most important things in his life at that moment: getting ready for his first Quidditch match as captain or spending time outside of school with Rosie...

"Come on, we should stay and get in some extra practice. That's what the Ravenclaws'll be doing," he stated finally, not really listening to find out if he was interrupting anybody. He heaved a heavy sigh as the others groaned in return, but stood up from his seat anyway and clapped Sirius on the back. "We can always go to the trip before Christmas," he reasoned.

"Fine," Sirius whined, begrudgingly leaving his half-empty breakfast plate to follow his best friend to the Quidditch changing rooms. Marlene also waved a sad goodbye to the rest of her friends before skulking out of the Great Hall with them.

Rosie felt her heart drop of its own accord, unwillingly feeling a little upset at the fact that James had chosen Quidditch over her. But she shook the thought from her mind as her eyes lingered on him walking out of the large doors, wishing now that she had taken Charles's borrowed broom and tried out for the team herself. But then, that idea would be beyond stupid.

"Well then, there's no time to lose if we have to get back before two o'clock," Remus grinned, practically jumping up from his seat. He clapped Peter on the back so hard that the poor boy spat his Lorne sausage all over Alice's scarf.

Remus still hadn't come down from the high of having almost two whole months without being affected by the phases of the moon. So, none of the boys never dared telling him to calm down after his displays of erratic behaviour for fear that he might not got this chance again for years, at least. However, this message head clearly not made it to the girls of Gryffindor.